Chicago’s overnight winter parking ban in effect; many vehicles towed

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CHICAGO -- It's December 1 - do you know where your car is parked?

The parade of tow trucks on Chicago's streets means the city's overnight winter parking ban is officially in effect.

The ban is meant to keep the city's streets clear for snow plows and salt trucks in the event of a winter storm.

Snow routes are marked with either red-and-white signs, where you can't park at all after 3 a.m., or red-white-and-blue signs, where you can't park if there is more than two inches of snow on the road.

The ban runs from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. Dec. 1 through April 1 on 107 miles of major roadways.

Last year, over 9,000 vehicles were towed, which cost motorists more than $1.6 million, without counting the $60 tickets a lot of those drivers got in the mail. And the tickets come whether there's snow on the ground or not.